Essays On Play

This opportunity arose from my work with the steering committee of the St. Albans Mela, which was formed to look at various aspects which we believed to help steer us towards having a Mela in St. Albans. The idea of a Mela in St. Albans is part of a larger project called Fuze which was […]

Both plays see the deaths of the ‘guilty characters as an example of divine Justice, but also he punishment of innocent characters at the hand of humanity praying on itself. In ITS Pity She’s a Where there are some clear examples where Gods divine order is deserved and justified, punishing characters for their moral offences. […]

In The Call Of The Wild, Jack London, the author, focuses on the extreme changes that need to be made to survive in the wild. Buck, a St. Bernard and Scotch half-breed dog, is used to show the changes made and is removed from his home and placed in the wild. After living in the […]

Top Girls uses a variety of techniques in its interviews to create dramatic impact on its audience. Various techniques, including language choice, varying pace, and contrasting characters, are employed to achieve particular effects in the play. These methods allow for the repeated appearance of themes throughout scenes and interviews, providing continuity that unifies the play. […]

The production of Abigail’s Party by Mike Leigh that I attended was at the Cambridge Arts Theatre and focused on Laurence and Beverley’s characters. Despite being legally bound by marriage, they do not have a good relationship as they both have very similar personalities. Both individuals strongly believe that they are always correct, which can […]

I have been studying a twentieth century drama called ‘A Cream Cracker Under the Settee. ‘ It was written by Alan Bennett and appeared in the BBC1 series ‘Talking Heads. ‘ It has been written in the form of a tragi-comedy monologue where the juxtaposition of humour and pathos reflects real life. In this drama […]

The protagonist of A Lady of Letters is Miss. Ruddock, an isolated woman who is obsessed with writing letters. Originally created for television, the play features only Patricia Routledge as Miss. Ruddock, making it a monologue. A monologue is where one person speaks their thoughts aloud or directly addresses a reader, audience, or character. The […]

The dramatic impact of ‘Absent Person Singular’ lies in the lack of characters, which makes it clear to the audience that someone is missing. Throughout the play, all the main characters are introduced in each act, except for Dick and Lottie Potter and George, the dog. Although there is a constant reference to them, the […]

Aboriginal beliefs and cultural influences have existed for thousands of years. With the movement of European settlement to Australia, many Aboriginals ways of life and attitudes were changed to fit those of aliens, the British. The staged drama, ‘Kullark’, written by Jack Davis, represents a time of injustice of a group that were considered to […]

The Romans had theatres like the Greeks. However, different from the Greek theatres (in which only solemn religious played were performed), theatrical performances in Roman theatres became more secular. Theatrical performances were different from other kinds of Roman entertainment, like gladiatorial fights and chariot racing, they had nothing to do with cruelty or bloodshed. Roman […]

According to Wordsworth’s Preface to Lyrical Ballads, nature and the Romantics share a close connection. The author posits that “the passions of men are incorporated with the beautiful and permanent forms of nature,” highlighting the unbreakable bond between humanity and the natural world. For Wordsworth, “the mind of man [acts as] the mirror of the […]

Patrick Teoh, the sole actor in the play I am reviewing, expressed that while he has frequently portrayed a humorous Chinese gangster with a noticeable accent, it is roles such as Edward in “Wrecks” that truly stimulate him. Wrecks, a play by Neil Labute, was performed at the KL Performing Arts Centre in Kuala Lumpur, […]

As this is a radio production not a stage play there are certain restrictions on the director: Firstly there are no facial expressions or body language, Secondly there are no props therefore we cannot tell where the setting is; Thirdly, to overcome these problems the director must use: Tone which conveys the loudness and softness […]

J.B Priestley wrote ‘An Inspector Calls’ in 1945. The play is set in 1912, in an Edwardian dining room, before the World Wars, when social class was more important in England. We went to see a modern production at Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre. It is a morality play that focuses on how a person’s actions over […]

“An Inspector Calls” is a theatrical production authored by J. B Priestley, a socialist who had experienced hardship and underpayment himself, believed that the world needed to transform after the Second World War. The play he wrote is set in 1912 and centers around a wealthy family being investigated by a enigmatic Inspector regarding the […]

J. B Priestly started to write in 1911; his plays usually exposed a hidden message or moral. One of the two, this was used to get his message across. He had an immense amount of courage, as he was not at all afraid to speak his mind; he enjoyed and got a thrill from political […]

In the play An Inspector Calls, a message is being portrayed to the reader by J. B Priestley and in my opinion, the main bearer of this message is the inspector. Being of an ambiguous nature, he appears to live in a different world to the family with whom he deals; the Birlings and it […]

‘Our Country’s Good’ is based on events that occurred in the first penal colony to be set up in Australia in 1789. The play deals with the prisoners in the colony, who were imprisoned for minor infractions, while still in Britain. It tells of the abuse they endured at the hands of their officers, in […]

Chikamatsu Monezamon is Japan’s most noted playwright, who while being a prolific writer, also pioneered kabuki theatre. The first of Chikamatsu’s shinjuu or love-suicide plays, Sonezaki Shinjuu (The Love-Suicides at Sonezaki) focuses on the love of protagonists Tokubei, a 25-year-old soy shop worker, and Ohatsu, a 19-year-old courtesan, and eventual suicides as a result of […]

For centuries, people have read Euripides play “Medea” and pondered the question, “Does Euripides want to portray Medea as a witch or as a woman? ” When the play was first written, powerful women were perceived to be dangerous or commonly thought of as witches. No women were aloud to explore knowledge or to live […]

Oliver Goldsmith’s ‘She Stoops to Conquer’ focuses on the seemingly inconsequential and often innocent mistakes of distinctively human characters. Goldsmith has portrayed his characters through various types of humour, including comedy of manners, farce and comedy of situation, which are the three basic types used in the play. Goldsmith also uses wit, puns, satire and […]

Upon initial examination of Caryl Churchill’s ‘Top Girls,’ one can discern the primary Acts and their potential dramatic and thematic significance. In Act One, it appears that Churchill aims to introduce characters and their narratives, inspiring the audience to establish connections among them. To achieve this outcome, Churchill employs certain dramatic techniques. In my opinion, […]